Page 40 of Heart's Keeper

Xerus bared his teeth at her and lowered his head. Lana knew he was ready to strike her. She lowered her hand slightly and forced herself to smile. "You've gone away from me now. Maybe I was too late...but I'm not leaving you still. I can't."

Tail weaving behind him, Xerus took a slow step toward her, his hand raised slightly, talons extended. Lana closed her eyes and tried not to flinch as she felt his sharp claws graze against her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly and saw him looking down at his hand, his head tilted. Her eyes fell to his fingers and there she saw blood. Her blood. As he stared down at his hand, Lana dared take another step toward him.

"Xerus...I—"

His hand shot out and encircled her throat. Unprepared, Lana got one decent inhale of breath before his hand tightened. Panicked, she gripped and clawed at his wrist as he drew her closer, his fangs sliding out from his upper lip, ready to bite down and tear her flesh from bone. Lana writhed in his grip as she felt herself lifted off the ground, struggling to stand on her toes. His face came closer, and she felt her vision slipping. Knowing she wouldn't be able to break his hold on her, she stopped herself from trying to fight. Instead, she slid her other hand up his arm, gripping his shoulder, then touched at his neck and his face, brushing her fingers over his fine scales.

"Xerus..." Her head lifted back as she opened her mouth to catch breath. "Come...back."

His pupils dilated and he blinked once. His hand loosened but didn't release her. Lana took a slow breath and slid her fingers down to his jaw, taking hold of his face, making sure he saw only her. Tears—or maybe it was blood—slipped down her face and along her chin, catching on Xerus' hand. Her body shook and a burning pain grew up her spine. Her head swam, but she pushed herself not to faint. If she did, she knew he would be lost to her for good.

She repeated her words, repeated his name over and over as if it were a single light out in a dark sea and it was his only way back. He didn't move. He didn't release her, but he didn't attack her either, nor did he look away.

"It's me. Come back, Xerus," she whispered.

He blinked again, and his face twisted in an expression that looked pained. His eyes focused on her, and he saw her. His mouth opened and shut, and his throat moved as if he were trying to speak.

"Lana," he said in a sharp exhale of breath. His eyes widened as if he were in disbelief.

Lana tried to nod her head. "That's right. I'm right here."

He released her immediately, making Lana fumble back. Her legs gave out, and she started to fall when Xerus caught her and steadied her. She took several deep breaths and gripped his arms. When she looked up, his expression was grim.

"What have I done?" he said softly.

Lana couldn't find the words. She shook her head and let out a whimper. He cupped her face in his hands, his eyes drifting to her throat, mortified.

"What have I done?" he hissed, more to himself than her. His gaze darkened with rage.

"No. No, Xerus, stay with me." She placed both hands on his face and forced him to look at her. The panic in her voice seemed to draw him back.

"Lana..." He closed his eyes and allowed her to trail her fingers along his face.

She let out a tiny sob and brought his head down to touch against her own. "Don't go, Xerus."

She didn't know if he had already slipped away again. He hardly moved, hardly made a sound. When she lifted her head from his, he tilted his up to look at her, and she sighed in relief, sure now he still saw her.

She smiled at him as he brushed away tears with his thumb. "My Lana," he said.

There came a dull popping noise from far off and the woosh of something flying fast. Lana saw the bullets hit Xerus first—one into his shoulder and another through the spikes along the back of his neck—before she felt a sharp, exploding pain against her head. Xerus disappeared and the world went dark. The only noise was the sound of a distant roar, a terrible scream like a raging storm. The only feeling was that of falling slowly into darkness, like falling through water. Then silence and nothing.

Chapter Fourteen

It was hard to gauge when she started to remember things. Or to decipher what was real or a dream. There was so much and, yet, so little that brought her in and out of consciousness. Sometimes the noise was hell. Voices all around her, doors slamming, feet running. She remembered the heat, a terrible fire that seemed to melt her. She remembered the cold that settled in her bones, a chill like death. She had no thoughts to wonder if she was dead. There was only the odd heightened sense of everything around her. The feel of metal on her back, the whispers she couldn't understand, the hands that lifted her and set her down several times. The whirring and clicking of some machine and the blinking of lights. She felt and sensed these things, but she couldn't respond to them. All she could do was feel.

She had no sense of time. It didn't seem to exist at all wherever she was. All there was of time was the moment that she was in. For all she could guess, it could have been seconds or years; it meant nothing. All she knew was that there were times of silence and peace and times of noise and chaos. If it was in her to observe such things, she would notice that one voice, in particular, drew her out of the dark more than others. A sometimes angry voice, or distraught; a voice in agony.

When she felt her body being touched by strange hands, she hardly noticed or cared. She felt like an empty shell, apart yet separate from herself. Only when she felt a rough, warm hand on her—a familiar hand—did she feel almost pieced together again. Almost but not quite.

She floated through that abyss for all of an eternity before she finally saw a light and came back to the surface.

***

Lana blinked and squeezed her lids shut, a dull pain settling between her eyes from the bright light above her. She moaned and turned her head away, unable to escape the light. There was a soft shifting noise followed by a heavy clinking sound to her left and, a few seconds later, a warm hand touched her arm. Lana slowly opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy until she blinked a few times and could see the room she was in. A bare gray room with soft white lights above. She looked over to whoever touched her and felt her heart flutter, bringing her fully out of whatever sleep-induced state she had been in. She let out a small sob and took Xerus' hand in hers, squeezing it tight.

"Are we dead?" was the first thing out of her mouth. She looked around the room and thought it wasn't much for an afterlife, but if Xerus was here, then she had to be in some sort of paradise.

Xerus huffed. "I should hope not. This would be an awfully disappointing place to end up."

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